It is known that energy can be stored by lifting masses. The best known methods are pumped storage hydropower stations, in which water is pumped up from a reservoir to a higher level. When required the energy can be converted back again into electrical energy by letting out the water with an interposed turbine. This method has the disadvantage that a storage basin is required high up, which requires a considerable amount of space, and that suitable sites only exist in mountainous areas. A good overview of this technology is found on the internet site http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpspeicherkraftwerk (pumped storage hydropower station).
An alternative is lifting buildings with a hydraulic system, such as described in the patent specification “Potential Energy Storage System”, U.S. Pat. No. 6,996,937 B2. The disadvantage here is the high technical expense in the building construction and the comparatively low amount of energy which can be stored in relation to the outlay. Comparable proposals, to lift masses with cranes, such as described in patent application DE 10 2007 057 323 A1, or to move masses over rails to higher locations, incur high costs per stored energy unit and high wear on the systems.
The system described herein is concerned with the problem of providing a system for storing potential energy and a method for producing such as system, which is suitable for storing large amounts of energy, up in the order of the daily requirement of a country such as Germany and entails low costs per stored energy unit and low wear on the system.